Being Single Is Worth Big Bucks + How to Not Let a Relationship Ruin Your Finances

Alibaba says its Singles Day event has brought in a record $31 billion in sales. The online retail event, which is now bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, is seen by some analysts as a “bellwether of Chinese consumers’ willingness to spend” despite a slowdown in growth, according to CNN. The holiday celebrates people who aren’t in relationships, with other Chinese e-commerce platforms and even U.S. brands also taking part in the world’s busiest online shopping day.

So this now proves that being single is worth a lot of money! And If I can say so personally, being in a relationship and starting a family almost ruined my finances! What do I mean? Let Me Explain… First and foremost, starting a family is one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my life, and anyone who has experienced being a parent will tell you how much joy parenting really is—up to a certain point.

The truth of the matter is that children are blessings and can change your life for the better, but unfortunately, they can also change your wallet in the opposite direction if you aren’t properly prepared.

Love Is in the Air

My wife and I met over 15 years ago, and it was love at first sight. Well, maybe not exactly—I had to convince and woo her a little, but she eventually made the right choice and fell to my charm (or my unwavering persistence). We had a great time dating and rarely discussed starting a family because we were enjoying our lives, careers, and looked forward to more world travel. After five years of dating, we decided to get married and wasted no time starting a family after that. My daughter was born approximately 11 months after our nuptials, and this was one of the best days of our lives. We enjoyed our new family immensely, but soon after, we were hit with the reality of parenting and raising a young child.

Love Didn’t Pay the Bills

Bills started to pile up immediately, and we were left with many tough decisions to make as it related to our priorities. Were we going to pay our medical bills first or use our cash to buy clothing and diapers? Could we afford childcare, or should one of us stay home? Was it time to pick up a second job, or was there another way to bring in more income? The fact that it is expensive to start a family set in pretty quickly.

Love Lowered Our Credit Scores

After months of robbing Peter to pay Paul, we were almost maxed out on our credit cards in an attempt to make ends meet. We watched our credit scores closely and noticed that these high credit card balances had taken a toll on our score, dropping it almost 30 points in a short amount of time. We learned that overuse of our credit cards had taken us way over the recommended maximum utilization ratio of 30 percent.

Love (and a Little Discipline) Fixed It All

Immediately, we started to budget our expenses and focus on our needs rather than our wants. We tightened our belts a little and by doing so we were able to pay down our debt and get our score back on track. We also started to pay ourselves first and created an emergency fund with a high-yield savings account in order to prevent ourselves from being dependent on credit. We focused on our needs and budgeted for the wants, and before we knew it, our ruined finances became a walk in the park of family finances.

The Lovely Conclusion

Starting a family is still our most significant accomplishment, but turning our family finances around is a close second. Never underestimate the power of planning, but also don’t beat yourself up if life throws you lemons—or babies for that matter. Now at child number two, my family finances are growing, and what seemed like an out of control situation was put back in order with a little planning and discipline.

Do you have any financial comeback stories? I would love to hear them below.

Ash Exantus aka Ash Cash is one of the nation’s top personal finance experts. Dubbed as the Financial Motivator, he uses a culturally responsive approach in teaching financial literacy. He is the Head of Financial Education at BankMobile and Editor-in-Chief at Paradigm Money. The views and opinions expressed are those of Ash Cash and not the views of BankMobile and/or its affiliates.

T-Mobile’s $26 billion takeover of Sprint finally got approved by a federal judge, a move that will leave most wireless consumers with three major operators to choose from, including Verizon and AT&T. More than a dozen attorneys general had sued to block the merger that had already been approved by the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission. The administration has required T-Mobile and Sprint to sell some units to pay-TV operator Dish Network as part of the deal.

Dream chasing isn’t for the faint at heart. It can take years before one sees the financial payoff of what was once an idea. T-Mobile is probably patient on the outside, but internal it is jumping for joy. It took them a few years to get to this point, but I’m sure they will be relieved at the fruits of their patients.

When building a business, your goal has to be more than money, or you
will ultimately fail. Your drive has to be based on principle, change,
and something greater than yourself. Here is how to stay mentally tough
while pursuing your dreams.

Personal Development. The road to success is paved with character and
growth. Personal development is one of the key drivers that sustain you
on the path of your dreams. Trustworthiness, keeping your word, and
dependability are imperative to any industry. It doesn’t matter if
you’re a musician or painter, lawyer or doctor, these traits and
non-negotiable and forever transferable to success.

Take Breaks. To get there, you must rest one mile at
a time. The grind is overrated. Reflecting on how far you’ve come
energizes you for the road ahead. Burnout is a danger to your
accomplishments and leads to a failure by default.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Steve Jobs popularized this quote from an ad in The Whole Earth Catalog.
It read Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. We come to a point when we are happy
with a level of progress and think we’ve learned everything. Accepting
the truth that we never stop growing, and there is no limit to our
success gives us the ability to keep going. To continue, you must never
settle. You must always seek new ways of fixing things and solving
problems. Discover new opportunities and be open to learning more.

Faith. Steve Jobs also mentioned faith throughout
his journey. Believing so deeply in an idea that you make it come to
life. Belief takes ideas and materializes them; and when you realize you
can actually make something come to life, the sky becomes your
launching pad, not the limit.

Amazon Plans to Add 15,000 Jobs + How to Prepare for the Job You Want

Amazon says it will hire 15,000 more people at its Bellevue, Washington, campus, as part of the company’s effort to allocate new workers after it abandoned its plans for New York City. The e-commerce giant had issues in New York trying to open a facility there, called Bellevue, where 2,000 employees are already located, a “business-friendly city.” It’s also close to the company’s Seattle headquarters. This is good news for those in the job market but if this isn’t what you are looking to do then how do you make yourself valuable in the job market?

Here are four ways to prepare for the job you want no matter your age:

1. Focus on Your Strengths, Not What You’re Lacking

Whether you are 20 years old or over 40 instead of focusing on your
age, you need to focus on your strengths. Many young people with limited
experience or older people who may not be up to date with the latest
technologies focus on what they’re lacking, and this is a big mistake.
Do you have the qualifications for the job? Can you bring value to this
position? Whatever your strong suits are you should play that up in your
resume, cover letter or communications with the recruiter. It’s easy to
focus on why you can’t get the job, but the trick is not to let that
get to you. Focus on your value!

2. Attack Your Job Search from All Angles

Networking, Answering ads and/or working with recruiters are the most
effective ways to land a job. It is important that you just don’t focus
on one method but all three. Networking obviously is the ideal way
because it allows you to communicate your value directly, but the other
methods have their benefits as well. Be proactive and use each method
effectively.

3. Show/Explain Your Leadership Abilities and/or Innovation

Leadership and taking the initiative have nothing to do with age.
Young leaders and old leaders can be more or equally effective as those
who have the “ideal” age. Focus on your leadership abilities and be sure
to display this to your current or potential employee. Also, make sure
you are keeping up to date with current trends in your industry. This
will allow you to show your innovation and add more value to your
company.

4. Ask For What You are Worth

Lastly, ask for what you are worth. Don’t let being “too young” or
“too old” deter you from asking for a salary you deserve. In fact,
trying to downplay your worth may very well backfire on you. Also, if
you have been with a company for a long time and your salary outpaces
what the position is worth making sure you are adding to your skill set
and not staying complacent.

Following these four tips can help you gain or retain employment. What are some other ways? Comment below>>>

New Survey Says that Young People Don’t Like Job Hopping + How to Get Paid What You’re Worth

Contrary to popular belief young people are not keen on job-hopping as most people think. According to a new survey, U.S. millennials and Gen Zers want to stay at their current companies for an average of 10 years and six years, respectively. Additionally, they say work is a major part of their lives, with 65% of people in Gen Z and 73% of millennials saying it’s part of their identities, according to a Zapier-sponsored poll. The age groups’ actions reflect the findings: Seven in 10 say they constantly check work messages outside the office. This is great for corporations but what does that mean for business owners?

If you are a freelancer or entrepreneur you know all too well the fight to get what you are worth. You will constantly be bombarded with offers to work for less or even for “exposure” as many like to call it now. But how do you gain the confidence and know how to charge and get what you’re worth? Here are 3 tips:

Build Your Resume. It’s said that if you do what you
love you’ll never work a day in your life. Pursuing your passions and
getting paid for it is the ultimate professional dream. You may have to
start by working for free or at a discount rate to builds skill,
ability, and your resume but once you have some stats under your belt
its time to get that money… Keep in mind that if you are only in it for
the money it will be difficult to experience long term financial gains
so make sure you are pursuing your passion not only the paycheck.

Set a Standard. Pioneers have the ability to set
standards. And even if you are providing services already in the market,
no one can deliver them quite like you. Style and quality set you aside
from others opening up a field of buyers seeking exactly what you
offer.

Don’t Give In. A colorist (a person who literally
adds color by hand or digitally in films and visual media; yes, there is
a path for everyone) from Brooklyn, NYC once told me he had to be firm
with pricing because he didn’t want to become that guy who works for
free. After you have put in the work and set a standard you must not
give in to fees below your ability. Yes, flexibility is key but don’t
short change yourself. Getting paid your worth is ultimately the result
of you believing in your ability and knowing there are people who will
pay for it.